Student sues two school districts for allegedly failing to stop bullying

A student is suing two districts claiming they subjected him to a hostile school environment.Star-Ledger file

A teenager who was allegedly subjected to years of bullying is now suing the Hunterdon Central Board of Education and Flemington-Raritan Board of Education.

The suit, filed in late February in Superior Court in Flemington by attorney Brian Cige, claims the now-teenager was bullied not only by other children but by some school employees as well, from fourth grade onward.

The boy and his parents — as well as the students who did the bullying — are identified only by initials in the suit, which makes the following claims:

The bullying started in the fourth grade and continued into high school.

The years of alleged taunting, name calling and derogatory comments took its toll — as the young man eventually developed serious and debilitating health issues. He missed significant periods of school for hospitalization, according to the suit. Although the direct bullying has subsided, the suit claims the high school district is now doing very little to accommodate his disability.

The suit details many incidents over an eight-year period starting in grade school in the Flemington-Raritan district and continuing into high school at Hunterdon Central.

The reasons for the boy being targeted changed over the years. He was first picked on because of his physique, then later because of his hair, and then his perceived sexual orientation. He was subject to name calling, “pantsing” (having his pants pulled down to expose his underwear), being poked and having kick balls hurled at him until he was doubled over in pain, the suit said. Later, the boy was subjected to cyber bullying via Facebook, the suit said.

The suit claims the school districts were made aware of the problem but did nothing.

Over the years, the parents did not sit idly by. They worried that their son might hurt himself. They talked to teachers, administrators and guidance counselors on numerous occasions and even the police, but the bullying continued.

Although some teachers tried to help, nothing was ever accomplished, the suit said. Accused bullies were sent to the principal’s office. The parents spoke to the mother of one of the alleged bullies and she claimed she could not control her son, the suit said.

When the parents wanted to file criminal charges, the police told them that it was a school issue. As for the cyber incident, the police said that was a Facebook issue. The social network took the offensive posts down.

At one point an investigation was done by the Flemington-Raritan district but citing privacy laws, the principal would not divulge to the family what was found, according to the suit.

Now a teenager, the victim still suffers from the fallout of the “hostile” environment he was subjected to at school. Now, according to the suit, teachers have allegedly forced him to do assignments that are unduly stressful in light of his condition. That includes making him take part in gym class in spite of his physical limitations. He was then given bad grades as punishment, the suit said.

After the state’s anti-bullying law was adopted, the parents were told that the district could not do anything about the incidents that had happened before the law was passed. However, Cige disagrees. He cited a case from Toms River that went all the way to the state Supreme Court. He said the Anti-Bullying law of 2011 merely codifies the Supreme Court’s ruling in that matter.

The court held that a school district is responsible for protecting its students. Cige said that is why the family is suing the school districts and not the bullies themselves. He said the school districts failed to protect his client and are therefore liable.

The districts have not filed their answers to the complaint and no court dates are scheduled. Hunterdon Central school officials declined to comment on the suit. Officials from the Flemington-Raritan School District also had no comment at this time.